


Empty Coffee Mugs

by LSR04



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Gay, Healthy Relationships, Home, Love, M/M, Stressed Alex Claremont-Diaz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 19:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30076884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LSR04/pseuds/LSR04
Summary: Alex has drowned himself in law school and while he may complain about it, it's his favorite thing on earth, (other than Henry.)
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 9
Kudos: 68





	Empty Coffee Mugs

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, this is just a quick one-shot of the two of them post Red White and Royal Blue. Enjoy!

Law school was both everything Alex loved and hated. Naturally, he loved being busy; getting lost in his work was like walking. After a particularly long day of classes Alex still has his typical overload of work, and he threw himself into it without a second thought as soon as he got home. Sitting down with an obscene amount of coffee and badly photocopied readings, he lost himself in his overcaffeinated paradise.

Alex never feels the cramping of his hand when he scribbles and annotates frantically, nor did he now feel the time slipping past him. The once beating, overhead sun has dipped into something a bit more golden. He has the habit of putting his phone face down and on silent as well. Without the distraction of notifications and texts from June and Nora, he falls into the stacks of notes and textbooks ignoring everything that isn't worth a grade around him.

Henry comes home from work and often will see Alex manically writing and typing. Typically he can walk in the front door and Alex won't even notice in fact. The creak of their floors passes through deaf ears and Henry sometimes just pauses and watches Alex.

Alex with his hair in his face.

Alex with his pupils blown wide from grotesque amounts of coffee.

Tonight was no different. Henry with tired feet and miraculously unrumpled hair unlocks their door and walks right in. The floor creaks and his footsteps echo loud through the mostly silent house yet Alex who is hunched over with his back to Henry on their living room floor is oblivious.

His legs are tucked under him, and the amount of papers drown him in a sea of legal text. An old hoodie and pair of sweatpants is what he chose for tonight and to Henry, it takes nothing away from Alex’s beauty.

To Henry, Alex could be a painting of God. Everything about him is perfect to Henry. His dark curls complement his face and his face compliments his body. Alex is perfect in every way and at every angle.

(He’ll never tell him that for fear of his ego exploding.)

Henry sets his bag down and instead of just staring at him today, he walks over and crouches beside Alex. He finishes whatever he was writing before turning up to Henry and welcoming him home with a quick kiss.

“How much do you have to do tonight?” Henry questions, a hand playing with an out of place curl behind Alex's ear.

Already back to writing, Alex doesn’t let his eyes stray from his work.

“Too much,” he grumbles in mock irritation.

He loves this stuff, Henry thinks with a smile.

Around him are not only stacks of books with absurdly small text and notes that are only legible to Alex but as well empty coffee mugs. Henry hums in agreement before scooping up at least four half-drank coffees and wandering off to their kitchen. From there he can see Alex while he rinses them and puts them into their dishwasher.

While Alex is definitely the better cook between the two of them, tonight Henry starts on dinner. He sheds his coat and jacket onto their dining table and rolls up his sleeves. Tonight was going to be a simple yet gratifying mountain of pasta and white sauce which Henry is craving and knows Alex wont object to.

Henry cooks while Alex works and it's a common sight in their home.

Almost close to being ready to serve, a warm arm slinks its way around Henry’s waist and a body presses into his side.

“This is missing garlic powder.”

“You need to start making dinner more often.”

Alex relaxes his head into Henry with a lazy smile and for the first time since starting his work over six hours ago, Alex feels tired.

It was a Saturday night and the end of a long week for both of them. Alex had overloaded his units this semester, (obviously) and as finals approached, he was feeling the stress catch up to him.

Henry could feel it even if Alex consistently denied it.

He felt his exhaustion in the way he leaned all his weight onto Henry, trusting him to hold him upright as they stood together in the kitchen. If Henry were to lay Alex down to bed, he bets that in seconds he would be lights out.

Tonight, for the first night in a while, Alex's mouth has quit moving. Henry loves Alex though for his unfiltered stream of consciousness and his bubbling, loud personality that many people would shy away from.

It balances Henry.

Henry is a bit more on the quiet side. Polite, yet quiet. In a social setting, Alex often saves him from having to say more than a few sentences at a time. He is magnetic and confident in a way Henry admires. Many events Henry simply smiles and nods as Alex takes the spotlight from off his shoulders and managed it well. Watching Alex prattle on about new laws and taxes is a form of entertainment in itself.

As tempted as he is to just stand here in an exhausted silence with him, Henry eventually has to move to add the garlic powder.

Reluctantly, Alex slips away to clean up the mess he made in the living room while Henry mixes the pasta with the sauce and serves it into two portions that are ridiculously big.

Putting a fork into each bowl, Henry walks to their room farther into their home. Before Alex comes wandering in, Henry changes from work wear into attire more similar to Alex’s. Worn in pajama pants and a shirt he had snatched from Alex months ago.

On certain days, Alex is lone gone into classes by the time Henry wakes up. After a few weeks of this, Henry had made a habit of snagging one of Alex's shirts so in the morning he could wake up to the smell of him. It's juvenile he knows, but he couldn't resist. After a schedule change, Alex didn't have to leave till ten in the morning or so yet the shirt remained a permanent part of his wardrobe.

Settling himself into bed, he relishes in the comfort of a soft mattress and warm food. Moments later, the bed dips next to him as Alex slides under the covers, sitting up against the headboard. Reaching over to the table next to him, Henry passes Alex his food.

Alex turns on The Great British Baking Show to humor Henry. Even though it’s an episode they have seen before, they still watch with no complaints as they overstuff themselves on mediocre pasta.

Alex’s empty bowl sits on the bed as the episode ends. Henry takes his also devoured bowl and sets them onto the side table, his stomach full and joints creaking from overuse. The light had dimmed as night was slowly setting through their window and the now twilight sky cast a shadow over Alex's face that made him look like a piece of art.

Regardless that it was half past eight in the evening or earlier, Henry dragged Alex down under the covers and wrapped himself around the shorter boy like a backpack.

“Hen, I’ve got more reading to do,” Alex whines.

“Hush.”

And with that, Henry and Alex melt into sleep that they both desperately needed.


End file.
